The exchange of glances between the two revealed their skepticism.They understood that, whether I was telling the truth about this or not, I was a time jumper from the future.I possessed crucial information unavailable to them.And I had as much at stake as they did.
Nadine gently placed a hand on my knee.“When did you arrive in San Clemente?”
“Saturday.”
“What have you been doing?”
Spending time with an enemy I came here prepared to kill.Worse than that, having sex with him.Saving his life when I could easily have abandoned him.Getting myself tangled up in a complex web of emotions.
I was glad the darkness of the patio hid my flushed face.
“What have I been doing?Let me think.Sightseeing.Since I could actually go in the ocean, I tried surfing.Oh, and I managed to stop a burglary at your house on Avenida Victoria.”
All of that was true, even if it did sidestep the more personal details.
“Burglary?When?”Xander questioned.“The security system never showed any break-in.When we arrived, I walked through the house.I didn’t see?—”
“I’m good, Pop,” I assured him, using the endearing name I always addressed him by.“That was my plan.Something I promised myself I would do for you two if I ever jumped back to this year or location.”
“What plan?”Xander asked.
I turned to Nadine and told them what she’d shared with me about leaving San Clemente due to a burglary and never returning, despite her affection for the seaside town.
“I thought that by stopping it...”I shifted my gaze to Xander.“And ensuring you never found out about it, I could give you a few more happy chapters in Southern California.”
He shook his head and then laughed.“And I have the best security system money can buy.”
Nadine leaned over, kissing him on the lips.“You’re talking to your granddaughter.A genius, like you.”
He was still smiling when he turned to me.“How many of them were there?”
I didn’t want to worry him with the details, including the fact that my rib was still bruised from the incident.“It doesn’t matter.You were in Colorado.The way you explained it to me, you watched it happening on your security system, but there wasn’t a thing you could do about it.Calling the Sheriff’s Department didn’t help either.The burglars were too fast, and law enforcement was too slow.Right after that, you put the house up for sale, and you three never came back.”
“That sounds like my Xander,” Nadine smiled.
We paused and listened to the sound of coyotes barking in the distance.I looked up at the sky and the million stars above.
“But you never told me about this safe house.”
Xander chuckled.“Ha!So there was something I managed to keep away from you, Missy.”
Suddenly, tears welled up and leaked from my eyes.I couldn’t stop it.If I closed my eyes and didn’t look at their young faces, this moment could be any one of a hundred evenings we spent together on their patio in Montecito.As I was growing up, Nadine used a dozen endearments, likePumpkinorSweetheartorBeautifulorMy Love.But to Xander, I was alwaysMissy.
“Sorry!Sorry!”I apologized quickly, noticing their worried glances.I shared with them a few stories about the special times I’d had with them, and we laughed together about the nicknames and endearments.
Layla fussed in her crib, and Xander was on his feet immediately to check on her.
“Please bring her out,” Nadine said affectionately.“I know it’s late, and this will mess up her sleeping schedule.But what are the chances of Avalie getting to hold her mother on her lap?”
ChapterNineteen
Reed
I spentmost of Thursday watching the target house.However, despite my vigilance, I missed the couple’s arrival.
Part of the reason might have been because my mind was on the untimely death of Vaughn’s man.I wasn’t a big believer in coincidences, but the drifter didn’t strike me as a person who’d spend much time in the surf.
The greater reason, though, was certainly because I was thinking of Avalie.I found myself replaying every moment we’d spent together.Since she walked away from me at noon yesterday, I hadn’t heard anything from her.That worried me.
